Release Detail

March 29, 2000 - Corzine Inches Up On Florio With Jersey Dems,
Quinnipiac College Poll Finds;
Voters Prefer Government To Business Resume

Businessman Jon Corzine has closed some of the gap with former Gov. James Florio
and now trails 50 - 26 percent among Democratic voters, according to a Quinnipiac College
Poll released today.

This 24-point lead for Florio compares to his 35-point lead over Corzine, 57 - 22
percent, in a February 23 poll by the independent Quinnipiac College, before Corzine began
his multi-million-dollar advertising blitz.

By a 67 - 21 percent margin, Democrats say it is more important for a U.S. Senator to
have government experience rather than business experience. Among all voters, government
experience is rated more important 51 - 35 percent.

Florio's biggest downside is that 26 percent of all New Jersey voters have a favorable
opinion of him, with 35 percent negative and 24 percent mixed. For Corzine, 76 percent of
all voters say they don't know enough to form an opinion, compared to 81 percent in the
February 23 poll.
"Jon Corzine has closed some of that 35-point gap with Gov. Florio. But despite
spending almost $1 million on TV advertising, he barely registers recognition among voters.
Why? Because voters get the bulk of their information from sources other than TV ads," said
Quinnipiac College Political Science Professor Scott McLean.
"Will Florio's high negatives be his undoing? Don't count on it. New Jersey
Democrats, by three to one, think it is more important for a Senator to have government
experience than business experience. Florio, a former Congressman and Governor, might
show that among Democrats, it is better to be known than loved," Dr. McLean said.

In the Republican Senate primary, 53 percent of voters are undecided, while 14 percent
back U.S. Rep Bob Franks. No other candidate gets 10 percent of the vote.

Fifteen percent of Democratic voters say endorsements of local party leaders are "very
important" and 31 percent say "somewhat important" in their decision on a Senate candidate.

With Republican voters, 7 percent say these endorsements are "very important" and 36
percent say they are "somewhat important."

"Voters are not paying much attention to the Senate race so far, and local party
endorsements don't mean much today. But that could all change by the June 6 primary," Dr.
McLean said.

From March 21 - 27, Quinnipiac College surveyed 1,177 New Jersey registered voters,
with a margin of error of +/- 2.9 percent. The survey includes 348 registered Republican
voters, with a margin of error of +/- 5.3 percent and 400 registered Democrats with a margin
of error of +/- 4.9 percent.

The Quinnipiac College Poll, directed by Douglas Schwartz, conducts public opinion
surveys in New York, New Jersey and Connecticut as a public service and for research.

For additional data: www.quinnipiac.edu

3. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Frank Lautenberg is handling his job as
United States Senator?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Approve 53% 44% 62% 56% 49% 57%

Disapprove 22 36 12 20 30 15

DK/NA 25 20 26 24 21 28

4. Do you approve or disapprove of the way Robert Torricelli is handling his
job as United States Senator?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Approve 42% 33% 48% 45% 40% 44%

Disapprove 24 39 15 22 31 18

DK/NA 33 28 37 33 29 38

14. How much attention have you been paying to the election campaign for United
States Senator -- a lot, some, only a little, or none at all?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

A lot 11% 12% 10% 12% 14% 9%

Some 25 24 25 25 26 24

Only a little 35 37 34 36 37 33

None at all 29 27 30 26 23 34

DK/NA - - - 1 - -

15. Is your opinion of former New Jersey Governor James Florio favorable,
unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him?

17. Is your opinion of New Jersey Congressman Bob Franks favorable,
unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Favorable 12% 17% 8% 11% 13% 11%

Unfavorable 5 4 8 4 7 4

Mixed 14 11 13 16 16 12

Hvn't hrd enough 68 67 69 67 62 73

DK/NA 2 1 1 2 2 1

18. Is your opinion of State Senator William Gormley favorable, unfavorable,
mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Favorable 10% 11% 7% 11% 10% 9%

Unfavorable 5 4 7 3 6 3

Mixed 11 12 9 11 11 10

Hvn't hrd enough 74 72 76 73 72 77

DK/NA 1 1 1 2 1 1

19. Is your opinion of Essex county executive James Treffinger favorable,
unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Favorable 6% 9% 5% 5% 7% 5%

Unfavorable 5 2 6 5 6 3

Mixed 4 3 4 5 4 4

Hvn't hrd enough 84 84 84 83 82 86

DK/NA 1 1 1 1 1 1

20. Is your opinion of college professor Murray Sabrin favorable, unfavorable,
mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Favorable 6% 9% 4% 6% 8% 3%

Unfavorable 6 5 6 6 8 3

Mixed 7 6 5 9 8 7

Hvn't hrd enough 81 79 84 79 75 85

DK/NA 1 1 1 - - 1

21. Is your opinion of former State Senator Brian Kennedy favorable,
unfavorable, mixed, or haven't you heard enough about him?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Favorable 4% 5% 5% 4% 5% 4%

Unfavorable 4 6 4 4 6 3

Mixed 8 8 5 9 6 9

Hvn't hrd enough 82 79 85 82 82 82

DK/NA 2 2 1 1 1 2

23a. (If Registered Democrat) If the Democratic Primary for United States
Senator were being held today and the candidates were James Florio and Jon
Corzine, for whom would you vote?

Registered
Democrat

James Florio 50%

Jon Corzine 26

WLDN'T VOTE (VOL) 2

DK/NA 22

24a. (If Registered Democrat) When deciding how to vote in the Democratic
primary for United States Senator, how important is it to you which candidate
is endorsed by the local Democratic party leaders? Is it very important,
somewhat important, not very important, or not important at all?

Registered
Democrat

Very important 15%

Smwht important 31

Not very important 23

Not important at all 30

DK/NA 2

23b. (If Registered Republican) If the Republican Primary for United States
Senator were being held today and the candidates were Murray Sabrin, Bob
Franks, James Treffinger, William Gormley, or Brian Kennedy, for whom would
you vote?

Registered
Republican

Murray Sabrin 5%

Bob Franks 14

James Treffinger 7

William Gormley 9

Brian Kennedy 6

WLDN'T VOTE(VOL) 7

DK/NA 53

24b. (If Registered Republican) When deciding how to vote in the Republican
primary for United States Senator, how important is it to you which candidate
is endorsed by the local Republican party leaders? Is it very important,
somewhat important, not very important, or not important at all?

Registered
Republican

Very important 7%

Smwht important 36

Not very important 25

Not important at all 30

DK/NA 1

25. Do you think it is more important for a United States Senator to have
experience in government or experience in business?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Government 51% 43% 67% 44% 48% 54%

Business 35 46 21 40 40 31

DK/NA 14 12 11 16 12 15

26. Where have you been getting most of your information about the campaign for
United States Senator from New Jersey?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

Family,Friends,
Acquaintances 1% 1% 1% 1% 1% 1%

Magazine, News
articles 1 1 - 1 1 1

Newspaper, News
articles 40 40 40 43 48 33

Newspaper,
Editorials,Opinion
columns 9 11 6 9 8 9

Newspaper, Paid
political
advertisements 1 2 1 1 1 1

Radio, News 4 2 4 4 5 3

Radio, Paid
political
advertisements - - - - - -

Radio, Political
talk shows 1 2 1 1 2 1

TV, News 24 21 31 21 17 31

TV, Paid political
advertisements 3 2 3 5 3 4

TV, Political talk
shows 4 5 3 2 3 4

TV, Debates 2 2 1 1 2 2

Computer/Internet 1 2 2 1 1 1

Mailings, Political
campaigns 1 3 1 1 1 1

Telephone,
Polictical campaigns - - - - - -

OTHER 1 1 2 2 1 2

DK/NA 6 5 4 5 6 5

27. In general, if a wealthy candidate relies on their own money to fund their
political campaign, does that make you more likely to vote for that candidate,
less likely to vote for that candidate, or doesn't it make a difference?

Tot Rep Dem Ind Men Wom

More likely 14% 16% 14% 13% 14% 14%

Less likely 11 7 17 10 12 11

Doesn't make a diff. 74 76 69 76 73 74

DK/NA 1 2 - 1 1 1

28. If a wealthy candidate relies on their own money to fund their political
campaign and wins the election, do you think that candidate ...would be more
influenced by special interests, less influenced by special interests,
or doesn't it make a difference?